Lay for weaving looms



Aug. 4, 1959 Q 2,897,843

W. A. SHERWOOD ET AL LAY FOR WEAVING LOOMS Fild Oct. 17, 1956 5Sheets-Sheet 1 Amnmuunun w l; III I I ATTORNEYS 4, 1959 w. SHERWOOD ETAL 2,897,843

LAY FOR WEAVING LOOMS 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 17, 1956 INVENT 111mma. MD. M M r W ATTORNEY 2,897,843 Patented Aug. 4, 1959 LAY FOR WEAVINGLOOMS Walter A. Sherwood, Hempstead, and Thomas D. Verrill, Farmingdale,N.Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Farmingdale ManufacturingCorporation, Baltimore, Md, a corporation of Maryland ApplicationOctober 17, 1956, Serial No. 616,403

11 Claims. (Cl. 139-188) This invention relates to a lay for weavinglooms andv particularly to the lay support and cam assembly, for

use with a loom in which the shuttle boxes are fixedthe lay afterbeat-up in the position where the shed is' open to form a clear passagefor the shuttle throughout its entire flight, thus eliminating shuttlemarks and reducing wear on the shuttle and reeds, while making itpractical to use a lighter shuttle.

Another object is to provide positive and accurate positioning of thereed on the lay when beating up and when at dwell.

A further object is .toprovide a very light lay structure, weighing aslittle as of the weight of a conventional lay assembly.

.Another object is to provide greater clearance between the lay and theharness.

A further object is to provide certain improvements in the form,construction and arrangement of the several parts by which theabove-named and other objects may effectively be attained.

A practical embodiment of the invention is shown in the accompanyingdrawings, wherein Fig. 1 represents a warp-wise vertical section throughthe lay, race plate and frame brace, showing the lay support, the reedbeing in beat-up position against the fell of the cloth;

Fig. 2 represents a view similar to Fig. 1, with the reed retracted andthe race plate in shuttle-supporting position under the shed;

Fig. 3 represents a detail perspective view (parts being broken away) ofone end of the lay and its supporting and driving means;

Fig. 4 represents a warpwise vertical section, showing in elevation thelay driving cam, followers and con necting rod;

Fig. 5 represents a detail view, similar to Fig. 4, showing the camturned 180 from the position of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a simple graph showing a recommended cycle of operation forthe lay and its relation to the period of shuttle travel;

Fig. 7 represents a detail horizontal section through the cam andadjacent parts, taken on the line VII-VII of Fig. 4; and

Fig. 8 represents a warpwise vertical section showing an alternativeform of lay support.

Referring to the drawings, it will be understood that the mechanismshown herein is particularly adapted for use in a loom having itsshuttle boxes fixed to the frame and the picking mechanism likewisemounted on the frame independently of the lay.

The harness supporting and operating mechanism is indicateddiagrammatically at 1, a shuttle box at 2, shuttle at 3 and a framebrace at 4. The upper and lower warp yarns 5' and 5" are moved in anycustomary manner to form the shed 6, and the woven cloth 7 extendstoward a take-up roll (not shown) from the fell 8. The drive shaft 9 ismounted in the frame and driven in the usual manner. To the extent thatonly one side of the lay and associated parts may be shown anddescribed, it will be understood that the opposite end comprises amirror image of that shown, unless otherwise stated.

The lay includes end brackets 10 having a Vertical part 10' and a loweroffset part 10", the form of the latter part being such that it can movefreely in a horizontal direction past, and embracing, the frame brace 4,as clearly shown in Figs. 1 to 4. The reed-cap 11 is firmly fixed at itsends to the tops of the brackets 10 by means of the reed-eap clamps 12;the reed bed 13 being welded to the brackets and preferably including achannelshaped part 13 adapted to receive the bottom edge of the reed 14.Adjacent the reed, the race plate 15 is fixed to the offset parts of thebrackets, its upper surface being disposed to lie as nearly as possiblein the plane of the bottom of the shed.

In the form shown in Figs. 1 to 4 each bracket has a split mountingblock 16 secured to its lower end and projecting outwardly therefrom,each such block being assembled on a slide rod 17 and fixed in itsproperly adjusted position thereon by means of the screws 16'. The rods17 are slidably supported in elongated bushings 18 fixed on the framebrace 4, the bushings being preferably either made of, or lined with, asuitable antifriction material. The drive end of each rod 17 is in theform of a clevis, by means of which it is pinned .to the end 'of a stud19 passing slidably through one end of a turnbuckle 20, the inner end ofthe stud being threaded and surrounded by a spring '21 adapted to bearagainst the inner end wall of the turnbuckle and against a washer andlock nut assembly 22 on the threaded end of the stud. The other end ofthe turnbuckle is threaded to receive the threaded stem 23 of the camyoke 24.

The drive shaft 9 (a straight through top shaft without offsets) passingthrough the elongated opening 24 of the yoke, is provided with a bearing26 serving to guide the yoke in a straight line path between itsadvanced and retracted positions. The shaft is slotted, as indicated at27, and the more or less ovoid cam 28 and the reniform cam 29 are keyedto the shaft with their axes of symmetry lying in the same plane. Thecam 28 bears against the roller 30 and causes the feed or beatup strokeof the lay, while the cam 29 bears against the roller 31 and acts toreturn the lay to its position of dwell for the passage of the shuttle(Fig 6), the rollers 30 and 31 being mounted on opposite ends of theyoke. The cam assemb'ly is secured in proper position on the drive shaftby means of a clamp 32 (which may conveniently be shaped to constitute acounterbalance for the cams) and a smaller clamp 33, the latter beingspaced from the bearing 26 by means of a ring 34, and the cam 28 beingspaced from the bearing by means of the spacer 35.

The frame brace 4 is provided with a stop 36 aligned with each of thelay brackets, the stops being adjustable (Fig. 4) in order to ensureproper positioning of the lay assembly at dwell, the adjustable stopscooperating with the action of the spring-loaded turnbuckle to obtainthis result. On the forward (beat-up) stroke of the lay the turnbucklepart of the connecting rod assembly acts as a solid member. The spring21 is sufiiciently preloaded to overcome the inertia forces of the layand its supports during the return stroke (toward the left in Figs. 1 to4). Near the end of this stroke, resulting from the action of cam 29 onroller 31, the lay support brackets come against the stops 36 and areheld there by the continuing action of the cam which causes the springto compress .,(Eig.., 5 )i..as the, turnbuckle assembly stretches, thespring force serving to hold the lay assembly firmly in its properposition during the dwell part of --the.cy.cle. ;At:xthis:}time.'-.theshed .isHwide'opentan it .remains soduring -.the..entire shuttle flightso that chafing .by the zshuttles is.- minimized. Furtherm0re, since.the .shuttleis not obliged .to. force its way; through a closing shed,the. shuttle canbe made lighter. (e.g,-, .of aluminum) or.smaller.whileistill carrying thessame yardage .-.o lweft yarntorcan..be,designed .tocarry-substantially greater yardage.

alternative form. of support is;.-sho.wn in Fig. 8,

-wherein':the,.lay. assembly is mounted. on.,light.weight {tubularrods-37, the lowerendsof which are clampedat .33.to av rockershaft 39atv the base. of the loom. Each slay; bracketisoperated through aconnecting rod and .-cami drive, assembly ,as described above, the. onlydif- ,ference,being .that;the.,lay-motion isjalong arather flat -arc.with-therocker; shaft as its center instead of being .in a straightline.

. The desirable lightness of the lay assembly may result in part-fromthe use of .extrudedmetalshapes (e.g., of aluminmn),. ,for:,tl1e. reed,cap. 11, reedbed 13,,and race plate 15, or some of them. The reedcapmay be secured to ,the lay-,brackets-by means of the quick-disconnectclamps 12,. so-that reeds canbe interchanged rapidly easilywhen desired.While the lay-driving-cams and -.connecting rods,;are vreferredto asbeing duplicated on the rightand left sides of the loom it should be.noted that such duplicationmay. be unnecessary in a narrow .,tabric loomand the description and claims are to be ;I. W t s. n e t n i Inthe-structure disclosed, the usual cumbersome lay .t wqr s-andhq l y amta Shuttle .bqx s have be nte aiin t tthu a i lch eveme t the bjec Pr vius y n r t Thebwtst is 1 greatly shortened ,being only about halfof-that normally used perrnitting the reed to beat-up, clear the shedand dwell in a- -srnooth cycle, more than half of which may bepccupiedby the dwell, as shown in Fig, 6.

It. will-bennderstood thatvarious changes may be made in the form,construction and arrangement of the several ,parts ,andin their mode ofoperation. without departing from; the, spirit and sc ope oftheinvention.

.. What weclaimis:

1. Alay ,assemblyandsupport for weaving looms having,. -s tationary.shuttle boxes comprising, vertical end brackets, alreedassemblysecuredto and extending between ,said brackets, arace plate secured to andextend- ..ing between said brackets, means supporting said brackets forreciprocating.horizontalmotion, driving means for reciprocating, saidbrackets and the parts secured thereto between the beat-up. position anda predetermined retractedpositiomand connecting rod assembliesconnecting said driving means to said brackets, said connecting rodassemblies being resiliently variable in length.

7 2, Alayassembly and support according .to claim 1 which includes arigid and adjustable stop against which the lay assembly is. firmly heldin its retracted position.

3. A lay assemblyand support according to claim 2 in which eachconnecting rod assembly contains a spring so disposed as to permit thelength of the assembly to vary resiliently while the lay assembly isheld against the stop.

4. A lay assembly and-support according to claim 3 in whicheachconnecting rod assembly is designed to have its length rigidly fixedduring the beat-up stroke.

5.- A l ay assembly and support according to claim 2 in which the stop,is so. located as. to limit the retracting motion of the reedto aposition closely adjacent the shed.

6. A lay assembly and support according to claim 1 in which thev loom.includes. av frame brace extending across the loom approximately beneaththe fell of the fabric to be woven, in which the end brackets are soshaped as to partially embrace said frame brace, and which includesrigid and adjustable stops carried by said frame .braceiorengaging saidbrackets in the retracted position. of the .lay assembly.

7. In a lay assembly and support forweaving looms, a pair of endbrackets each having an..upper vertical part and a .lower. horizontallyoffset part, means for attaching a reed capv to. the toplof eachvertical part, a race plate having its ends fixed.on the offset parts.and means for supporting said brackets for. ireciprocating horizontalmotion.

8. A lay assembly and support according to claim 7 posed bushings, apair of'rods slidabletherein and means for fixing the lower offset partof eachbracket to one of said rods.

9. A lay assembly and support according-toclaim 7 in which the supportcomprises a rocker shaft at the base of the loom, a pair ofsubstantially vertical rods having their lower ends pivotedon saidrocker shaft, andmeans for fixing the lower ofiset part of each bracketto the upper end of one of saidrods.

10. A .lay assembly and support for weaving looms provided withstationary shuttle boxes andshuttle-picking means comprising, a reedassembly'and support-therefor, driving means including a cam forreciprocating said reed assembly between; the beatup position and apredetermined dwell position close to-the shed, and'means including astretchable connection between said cam and the reed support for holdingsaid reedlassembly in said dwell position at least during theentire-shuttle flight.

11. A lay assembly and support according to=claim 10 in which the reedassembly is held in dwell position during each sequence of shuttlepicking-,[flight and boxing.

:aReferenms (Jited in the the of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

